Jonah Repents: What to Do When God Rebukes You?
Shared on November 3, 2024
When God rebukes you, there are two things that you should do. Do you know what those two things are? Watch this week’s lesson as Pastor McCrary teaches about repentance as Jonah repents from within the belly of the great fish.
Introduction
Jonah found himself in serious trouble because he chose to turn from the assignment God had tasked him to do. His disobedience found him being in the belly of the great fish the Lord prepared for him for three days and three nights. God does not reward disobedience. So, the disobedient child should certainly repent of their disobedience and return to good graces.
Repentance and Forgiveness
When I teach about repentance, I try to remind people not to use repentance and forgiveness interchangeably. The reason why I give the reminder is because repentance and forgiveness are not one in the same.
The dictionary defines repentance as the action or process of repenting especially for misdeeds or moral shortcomings. The act of repenting is one turning from sin and making corrections to how one lives spiritually. Forgiveness, on the other hand, the act of forgiving which means to pardon.
Now, when we turn to the word of God, we understand that repentance is one of the steps taken to seeking forgiveness. The steps of forgiveness begin with one being rebuked for their wrongdoings. Afterwards, the one that sinned (did wrong) with either make the choice to repent or not. Should one genuinely repent (make corrections), then the one that’s been wronged can and should forgive the wrongdoer.
So, in Jonah’s case, we saw in our lesson last week where he was being rebuked by God through the storm. The Lord didn’t even have to say a word to Jonah for Jonah to realize that his trying to run from God was wrong. We saw where Jonah actually began to take the steps to repentance when he acknowledged the storm was because of his sin. Now, he must go about completing the process.
Jonah’s Prayer to God
Our lesson opens with Jonah in the belly of the great fish and we’ll see that he prayed to the Lord (Jon. 2:1). Scripture shows us that Jonah cried out to God because of his affliction (Jon. 2:2). What was his affliction? I think some of us will point to his being in the belly of the great fish.
Jonah’s affliction
Now, let’s think this over for a moment. Affliction is considered to be suffering or being in persistent pain or distress. Now, as I have never been in the belly of a fish, I can’t speak to what Jonah was going through physically. However, Jonah’s affliction began well before he ever ended up in the belly of the great fish.
Let’s not forget the fact that Jonah was in the belly of the great fish because God had ordained it to be (Jon. 1:17). Let’s remember why he was in the belly of the fish. Yes, it was because of his disobedience but why did Jonah disobey God? Because he likely despised the Assyrians and didn’t want to minister to them.
So, Jonah’s affliction is made up of more than just one obvious thing. I believe he was afflicted by the toxic feelings he had towards the Assyrians. Jonah’s feelings towards the Assyrians were so bad that they caused him to disobey God.
This is why, if you ever hear me pray, I often ask God to give me good health emotionally. What we feel emotionally can also affect us spiritually which means our emotions can affect each phase of our life. So, what you’re feeling emotionally can affect you mentally in the decisions you make which then plays a role in the actions you take physically.
So, Jonah was a mess in his mind most likely due to what the Assyrians did. We don’t know exactly what Jonah was doing before God called on him to go to Nineveh but, in my mind, I can’t imagine he was too happy with life. So, there was a reason that God tasked Jonah with going to Nineveh. There is now another reason why God prepared for Jonah to be in the belly of the fish for three days.
In the belly of Sheol
In his prayer, we’ll see that Jonah said, “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice (Jon. 2:2).” Sheol, is the place that we would refer to as hell (purgatory or Hades in Greek); a waiting place for the dead as the dead awaits final judgment.
Of course we know that Jonah had not died nor was he going to die in the belly of the fish. Scripture has already told us that he would be in the belly for three days and three nights. So, Jonah was likening being in the belly of the great fish to being in purgatory awaiting death.
Let’s also not overlook Jonah saying that God heard his voice while he was in the belly of the fish. As I said in last week’s lesson, no matter where you are, the Lord is with you and He certainly can hear you where you pray out loud or within. Of course, I would suggest for you not to wait until you are in the deepest and darkest places to pray to Him but if you ever end up there, He is with you.
Jonah acknowledges his terrible mindset
So, Jonah was in a dark place both in his heart (mind/soul). From Jonah 2:3-7, we’ll see Jonah describe what he physically went through after being thrown overboard. Yet, at the same time, there is some figurative speech at play as Jonah also described his spiritual state.
Jonah said, “the floods surrounded me.” Physically, we know that when he was tossed overboard, the sea surrounded Jonah. Jonah said, “Your billows and Your waves passed over me.” We know that there was a storm at sea when Jonah was thrown overboard (Jon. 1:4,15). Though he may have spoken of what he had endured at sea, I can’t help but think of what James wrote in his letter.
James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is ‘like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.’ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (Jas. 1:5-8).”
Jonah, I do believe, was a man who had become unstable in his ways due to the Assyrians conquering Israel. Jonah’s obedience had been tossed and shaken which ended up with him in the belly of the great fish. Even more is that Jonah tells us, “Weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever (Jon. 2:5-6).”
Jonah, physically, had begun to sink to the depths that boats would anchor when he was swallowed by the great fish. I also believe this speaks to where Jonah was in his soul as well. It would be hard for us to ignore the similarities to Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days and nights to Jesus being in the grave and resurrected on the third day.
Jesus died a sinner because He took on the sins of mankind. Jonah, though a prophet of God, was still a sinner and was in the belly of the fish because of sinful behavior. When Jesus rose from the grave, after preaching victory in hell, He rose no longer as a sinner but being glorified with all power given to Him (Matt. 28:18; 1 Pet. 3:19-20). The belly of the great fish was an opportunity for Jonah to rise from the depths that he had sunk spiritually.
Jonah’s change of heart
What we will see in this prayer is that Jonah did begin to have a change of heart in the belly of the fish. We actually see this change of heart very early in Jonah’s prayer. Jonah said, “I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple (Jon. 2:4).” So, Jonah still had some faith and hope that he would see God’s temple yet again and that the belly of the great fish wasn’t his end.
Many of us have had life shaking moments that can cause us to end up in the belly of a great fish as well. During such times, we must come to realize what we need to do in order for us to get out of the belly of the fish. Prayer is certainly what we should do, but we must understand that our prayer needs to be prayed with hope and out of sincere faith.
We will see Jonah speaking from a place of faith when he said, “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord (Jon. 2:7).” When he remembered the Lord, that is when Jonah prayed. In dark times, when all hope seems lost, you should always remember the Lord. Remembering God, what He can and will do, is a part of having faith.
As Jonah then said, again from faith, “those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy (Jon. 2:8).” God’s grace and love – His mercy – is available to all people. Sadly, many of us ignore God’s availability and we turn to the world – to sin. One should never turn away from God’s mercy and grace because without it, one will just continue to plummet in their soul.
Jonah’s prayer concludes with him committing to sacrifice to the Lord with “the voice of thanksgiving” (Jon. 2:9). In that same verse, Jonah said that he would pay what he had vowed – this is to say that he would carry out his calling. With this change of heart, God spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah has been “resurrected”. Now, Jonah has to answer the question of what he is going to do with the mercy that has been shown to him by God. This is the same question we who have been born again have to answer each day that we live. God has shown us love and mercy, what are we going to do with it? What we do with God’s mercy says a lot about our faith.